A time of celebration and sadness

Here at Berkeley Engineering, the spring season is often marked by occasions that celebrate our common ties as engineers and educators. This year has been no different. On March 29, we were delighted to host more than 140 engineering deans for the first day of their annual conference, held this year in the Bay Area. It turns out that a number of deans at leading U.S. engineering schools are our alumni, and they especially enjoyed the chance to reconnect. And on April 16, we’ll be just as delighted to host hundreds of newly admitted students, their families and other visitors for Cal Day.

Both events have been opportunities to showcase the great excitement and energy powering the college’s newest initiatives, particularly in design. Our Jacobs Institute for Design Innovation, open just since August 2015, has quickly become a hotbed of activity for students, professors and industry partners who love to combine creativity with hands-on prototyping and problem-solving.

Professor David Dornfeld, 1949-2016 (Photo by Noah Berger)

Our colleague David Dornfeld, longtime member of our mechanical engineering faculty and founding faculty director of the Jacobs Institute, has been a driving force behind our design initiative, as well as a citizen of the college who always found a way to use common sense and the right touch of humor to unite people toward a common goal. Sadly, we lost Dave on March 27 to a sudden heart attack. He was just 66. We remember him with tremendous affection and respect.